Construction at PIT continuing on pace, new bridge to be added to building design

Garret Roberts, Beaver County Times
·3 min read

FINDLAY TWP. – Whether travelers are flying in or out of western Pennsylvania, it's becoming harder to miss the new developments at the Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT).

Members of the airport recently showcased the work that crews have completed on the new terminal project at PIT, as the majority of the foundational work has created a "skeleton" for the new building. As construction continues with the Pittsburgh-themed design, the terminal is starting to show the shape of the final project and is on pace to meet the 50% completion goal post by May.

"This is going to be an airport that's built for Pittsburgh, by Pittsburgh," said Paul Hoback, chief development officer. "We have over 85% of the contracts with local firms. We are also using locally sourced materials, all the structural steel is being fabricated right nearby in Ambridge, Pennsylvania. When we started to talk about the 'for Pittsburgh' side of this, we were really thinking that we wanted this new terminal to reflect the city in this amazing region that we're in."

Construction on the new terminal began in October 2021 when the airport discussed its need for an updated landside entrance to the travel hub. The existing terminal has presented some challenges for daily upkeep, such as the required maintenance of the underground rail system, which prompted the airport to start considering some new options for the decades-old facility.

Construction crews working on site at the Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) are all local contractors, allowing the airport's new structure to be built "for Pittsburgh, by Pittsburgh."
Construction crews working on site at the Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) are all local contractors, allowing the airport's new structure to be built "for Pittsburgh, by Pittsburgh."

"This terminal, which I still hear people refer to as the new airport, is 31 years old," said Christina Cassotis, CEO of the Allegheny County Airport Authority. "We had to make a decision: are we going to fix what we have? Or are we going to look at other options? And after studying lots of alternatives, we decided on the option of a new landside terminal."

The newest addition to these construction plans is a bridge that will connect the existing airside terminal to the new building, sending departing travelers through the mezzanine portion of the airside terminal directly above the T.G.I. Fridays location. While the average traveler typically sticks to the bottom floor of the airside terminal in the current design, this second floor will serve as the new entryway to the skies and offer some additional spots for businesses.

A digital rendering of the new tunnel being added at the Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) to connect the landside and airside terminals. A digital screen will be located around the tunnel, capable of showing informational video or ads.
A digital rendering of the new tunnel being added at the Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) to connect the landside and airside terminals. A digital screen will be located around the tunnel, capable of showing informational video or ads.

Hoback said the teams designing the bridge to the airside terminal based their construction on the experience of going across the Fort Pitt Tunnel in Pittsburgh. While this may cause some immediate anxiety for locals used to driving through multiple lanes of traffic on the bridge and the long wait times associated with the popular roadway, the design at the airport is hoping to capture those first-time experiences travelers have when entering the city and seeing the view of the city from the Mount Washington area.

"Frank Lloyd Wright really enjoyed design with compression and expansion, or release in his mind," Hoback said. "I'm sure he would have been quite proud of the city of Pittsburgh and the entrance that we have, because as soon as you go into those Fort Pitt Tunnels, you get that feeling of compression, and then as soon as you exit onto the other side, you get that 'wow' moment, that feeling of expansion and release. So, that was another inspiration that we had with this program."

A digital rendering of the new tunnel being added at the Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) to connect the landside and airside terminals. The roof of the tunnel will be fabric, changing colors with the time of day.
A digital rendering of the new tunnel being added at the Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) to connect the landside and airside terminals. The roof of the tunnel will be fabric, changing colors with the time of day.

Travelers will see some of the progress on this new tunnel very soon, as crews will begin adding scaffolding around the escalators that lead up to the airside terminal in the coming weeks. As this construction continues and the space becomes increasingly busy, the statues of Franco Harris, Nellie Bly and George Washington that had previously been welcoming incoming visitors to the region will remain in the landside terminal.

In addition to the scaffolding being added around the escalators, travelers will notice some lane restrictions happening around the entrance to the airport. As crews begin working on new roadways, the entrance will be reduced to three lanes and the speed limit near the entrance will be "greatly reduced" to protect workers in the area.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Construction at Pittsburgh airport on pace, new tunnel in design